A Hunter's Pup
by Tina Vainamoinen
Summary: Jared is a Hunter. Stealthy, fast, and deadly. But also the guardian of Periwinkle, a four year old pup. Nothing could go that bad, right?


A special infected made its way down the desolate streets that belonged to the necropolis that once was Delaware City. It wasn't just any special infected, either. A Hunter, dubbed as one of top dangerous infected. With speed and stealth, it's no wonder they earned that title.

There was more than just one. Three, in fact that were moving together. Not counting a very small one that clung to another's back. The carrier of the small one didn't seem to mind one bit as he leaped and slinked behind the others. But he was a bit slower because of the extra weight.

Now, any non-infected that saw this would think it strange. Why was the small one clinging to the back on another? And why did the one carrying it not appear to care? Well, there's a simple answer.

The small one was only a pup. Too young to control its own leaps and bounds. And the carrier was the pup's guardian. Now, we can start.

**xxxxxxxx**

It was two months ago that Jared had found the young female pup. Alone and crying. He had been alone at the time, not with any of his packmates. Perhaps that had been a good thing. If any of them had been around, they would simply tell him to ignore her.

But he had in fact been on his own. So when he came back to the warehouse that his pack lived in with the pup in his arms, it was too late. No matter how many times his packmates had taken the pup away or how far, she'd somehow return. And she'd go straight to Jared's side each time.

Eventually the rest of the pack gave up and allowed her to stick around. But, like with Jared, they seemed to only tolerate the pup's presence. Not that she cared much. As long as the pup was near Jared, she was fine. But when separated, she'd cry out loudly until he came back. And nothing would silence her. Not even a growl from Alpha, the pack's leader.

So, even when hunting, Jared had the pup with him.

"Look, prey." Reaper said with a bark. The Hunter was the most vicious killer in the whole pack. He was also pretty good at being vigilant.

Chase, the leader of the hunting party, looked in the direction that Reaper motioned to. So did Jared. Sure enough, there were four survivors. Two females and one male. One of the males appeared to have a lame leg and was limping a bit. The female had bandages that covered her left eye. But the other male seemed perfectly healthy and strong.

Still, the odds of success were pretty good.

The Hunters went silent and separated with a word. They already knew how they were going to do this.

Jared leaped down into an alley and stayed in the shadows. Silent as a leopard on the prowl. The pup on his back was quiet too, as she had been taught to.

There was nothing but the voices of the survivors for a moment. Then a screech that could only belong to a Hunter. Within a second or two, Reaper was clawing away at the survivor with the lame leg.

The other survivors gave a heartbeat's hesitation before running. That was when Chase came in. And as his name supports, he took chase and managed to separate the two survivors, going after the healthy male. Gunshots could be heard.

Jared waited patiently, crouched and his muscles tense. As he expected, the female survivor ran into the alley. She was completely oblivious to the Hunter that was very close. He was on her left, her blind side.

He still remained quiet as the survivor looked behind herself to make sure nothing was there. Jared waited until she was calmed down and relaxed a bit. That way she'd be caught off guard.

Jared moved to get into a better crouch. Unfortunately, the pup on his back had been dozing off a bit and when he moved, got startled and yipped. Immediately, the survivor snapped to attention and took out a gun.

With no use in his original plan, Jared moved farther to the left, still in the darkness. A second or two later, he screeched and pounced.

The survivor shot her gun blindly as she fell under the weight of the Hunter. Luckily for him, the bullet hit a window instead of him or the pup.

Only a few minutes later, the female survivor was dead. Jared dragged her out to where Chase and Reaper were waiting. From the looks of it, they were fine two. Well, Chase had obviously been cut by something on his upper right arm, but not majorly.

The Hunters took a moment to catch their breaths. In that time, Jared looked over his shoulder at the pup. "We are lucky that your yip did not get us killed. Remember to stay quiet next time, Peri." he said.

The pup looked at him with an apologetic expression. Her periwinkle eyes, for she was named after, showing from under her hood.

"We must get back now. Come on." Chase said, picking up one of the dead prey and placing it on his back. Reaper did the same.

Jared nudged Periwinkle so she'd get into his arms and he could place one of the kills on his back. It was hard getting back to the warehouse in the past. But he'd now become used to carrying kills on his back with a pup in the crook one arm.

And so, it was home they went.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**A/N: There's the first chapter! This is my first L4D fic, so don't be too hard on me please!**

**"While you enjoyed that ice cream, I was dying inside." - My friend Jeremy.**


End file.
